Profile: During his NHL presidency, John Ziegler steered the league through a both tumultuous
and exciting period. A lawyer by profession, he was often required to use every
ounce of his savvy and resolve to face the contemporary problems of professional
hockey.

John Ziegler was born in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, on
the outskirts of Detroit. He studied law at the University of Michigan then joined
the prestigious Detroit firm of Dickson, Wright, McKean and Cudlip. In 1970,
he set up his own firm and worked as a senior partner until taking over as NHL
president in 1977.

As the successor to the legendary NHL leader Clarence
Campbell, Ziegler was not intimidated. His association with the league went
back to 1959 when he took on Bruce Norris and the Olympia Stadium interests
as a client. In 1966, he started doing legal work for the NHL and made a favorable
impression with all the important people connected to the league. A year before
he became president, Ziegler succeeded Bill Wirtz as chairman of the NHL
Board of Governors.

During John Ziegler's presidency the NHL reached
an accommodation with the World Hockey Association which led to the addition
of the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets
in time for the 1979/80 season.

In his final years in office, Ziegler
worked hard to grow the game as he opened the league to players from the Soviet
Union, and the Eastern Bloc. The new source of talent came at a good time
for the league as the Wayne Gretzky trade to the Los Angeles Kings helped grow
interest in the NHL in the American South, seizing on this opportunity, Zeigler
began the new NHL era of expansion by adding three teams in his final two years
in office, including a team in Florida, a market that previously was thought
out of reach for hockey.

John Ziegler also forged a positive working
relationship with the NHL Players' Association, while serving on the NHL Owner's
Negotiating Committee and working on the amendment to the Collective Bargaining
Agreement. In 1992, his experience and counsel helped resolve the players'
strike that threatened the Stanley Cup playoffs. However owners were dissatisfied
with agreement and forced Ziegler to step down shortly after the 1992
Playoffs.

After leaving the NHL office Zeigler dropped out of sight,
going into private business, and serving on the board of directors of a bank
in South Florida.